On this day… First Full-time Movie Theater Opened!

On this day in 1902, the first full-time movie theater opened! Thomas Lincoln Talley opened The Electric Theater in Los Angeles, California 112 years ago as part of a carnival. Before full-time movie theaters, people watched films in “kinetoscopes,” which only allowed for one viewer at a time, and were often considered lower-class.

After opening the first full-time movie theater, Talley went on to start First National Exhibitors Circuit, which competed with Paramount Studios in the film distribution business. Over time, theaters became more elaborate with expanded seating, enhanced audio, video, and multiple screens. The ways in which films and other media content are distributed has evolved even more so! Look no further than your favorite Discovery Education videos! Today, feature films and other video content can be digitally distributed across the globe.